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December 1
1800s *1881 - The Buffalo Bisons club meeting reveals their home attendance for 1881 was just over 32,000. *1889 - The California League meets and officially awards the pennant to Oakland on the basis of their final day 5–4 win over San Francisco. The forfeit is thrown out. *1896 - Amos Rusie, a season-long holdout, announces he will settle with the New York Giants and play next season. *1898 - New York Giants president Andrew Freedman renews his team lease on the Polo Grounds for the next 10 years. 1900s-1940s *1911 - Future Hall of Fame member Walter Alston is born in Venice, Ohio. Although Alston will come to bat only once during a brief major league career, he will have far greater longevity as the manager of the Dodgers from 1954 to 1976. *1912 - Boston Braves owner James Gaffney purchases the Allston Golf Club on Commonwealth Avenue with a plan to construct a ball park there. Ground breaking will commence on March 20, 1915. *1928 - National League President John Heydler becomes the first person to propose a baseball rule change calling for a 10th man, or a designated hitter, to bat in place of the pitcher. The NL will vote in favor of the proposal, but the American League will turn it down. *1930 - Shano Collins, a native New Englander, is appointed manager of the perennial last-place Boston Red Sox. *1931 - The Chicago Cubs trade future Hall of Famer Hack Wilson and pitcher Bud Teachout to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Burleigh Grimes. Wilson slumped to .261 and 13 home runs after hit .356 with 56 HR and set a major league record with 191 RBI in 1930. *1942 - At major league meetings in Chicago, World War II travel restrictions are the order of the day. Owners decide to restrict travel to a three-trip schedule rather than the customary four. Spring training in 1943 will be limited to locations north of the Potomac or Ohio rivers and east of the Mississippi. *1949 - Attendance in the ML is 20.2 million, down from 20.9 in 1948. The New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians each finish with over 2.2 million, but the St. Louis Browns fall to 270,000. The Browns will try to cover their light attendance with $200,000 obtained in cash in December sales of Bob Dillinger, Gerry Priddy and Paul Lehne as the team get five players in the transactions. 1950s *1953 - The Boston Red Sox trade for slugger Jackie Jensen, sending P Maury McDermott and OF Tom Umphlett to the Washington Senators. Jensen will average 25 home runs a year for his seven seasons in Fenway, lead the American League in RBI three times, and win the Most Valuable Player Award in 1958. A fear of flying will end his career prematurely. *1954 - The Yankees and Orioles complete the largest trade in major league history as 17 players, including Don Larsen, Gene Woodling, Bob Turley change teams. The first phase of the transaction began November 18 and will conclude today after the major league draft. *1955 - The Detroit Tigers bring back pitcher Virgil Trucks after a trade with the Chicago White Sox for third baseman Bubba Phillips. *1956: **Outfielder Frank Robinson of the Cincinnati Reds is unanimously voted the National League Rookie of the Year. **In the American League, Chicago White Sox shortstop Luis Aparicio is voted Rookie of the Year with 22 points, beating out Baltimore's Tito Francona and Rocky Colavito of the Indians. **In front of an estimated 100,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the U.S. Army baseball team beats an Australian All-Star team, 11–5, in an Olympic exhibition game. Sergeant Vance Sutton hits a grand slam. 1960s *1962 - A complete overhaul of the classifications in minor leagues is made. The Eastern and South Atlantic leagues are promoted from Class-A to Class-AA. Meanwhile, classes B, C and D are abolished with those leagues being promoted to Class-A. The Class-B leagues were the Carolina and Northwest leagues; The Class-C leagues were the California, Mexican Center, Northern and Pioneer leagues. The Class-D leagues were the Florida State, Georgia-Florida, Midwest, New York-Pennsylvania and Western Carolinas leagues. The Appalachian League moves from Class-D to Rookie classification. *1963 - ML owners agree to allow the expansion clubs four protected first-year players who can be optioned to the minors without being subject to a draft. *1964: **The Houston Colt .45s officially change their nickname to “Astros.” The change coincides with the team’s impending move from Colt Stadium to the Harris County Domed Stadium, also known as the Astrodome. The change in name for the three-year old franchise is necessitated due to a dispute with the Colt firearm company and the team's location to NASA. **The Chicago White Sox trade P Ray Herbert and 1B Jeoff Long to the Phillies for OF Danny Cater and SS Lee Elia. **Cleveland obtain OF Chuck Hinton from the Senators for 1B Bob Chance and IF Woody Held. *1967 - Pacific Northwest Sports, Inc. is awarded one of the two American League expansion franchise. The new team will be named the Seattle Pilots. *1965: **The Kansas City Athletics re-acquire minor league outfielder Joe Rudi from the Cleveland Indians. Rudi will eventually become the Athletics starting left fielder and a key member of their World Championship teams from 1972 to ’74. **The Pittsburgh Pirates acquire light-hitting outfielder Matty Alou from the San Francisco Giants for catcher Ozzie Virgil and pitcher Joe Gibbon. Alou batted only .231 for San Francisco in 1965, but will improve to a National League-leading .342 in 1966 and have four straight seasons over .300. *1966 - The Los Angeles Dodgers trade former National League stolen base king Maury Wills to the Pittsburgh Pirates for infielders Bob Bailey and Gene Michael. Wills upset the Dodgers when he left the team during its recent tour of Japan. 1970s *1970: **Shortstop Enzo Hernández and pitchers Tom Phoebus, Al Severinsen and Fred Beene go from the Orioles to the Padres for pitchers Pat Dobson and Tom Dukes. Dobson will win 20 games for the Orioles in 1971. **The Boston Red Sox trade second baseman Mike Andrews and shortstop Luis Alvarado to the Chicago White Sox for future Hall of Fame shortstop Luis Aparicio. *1971 - The Chicago Cubs release longtime star and future Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, ending his 19-year major league career. The Cubs also announce that Banks will serve as a coach on manager Leo Durocher’s staff in 1972. Mr. Cub finishes his playing career with 512 home runs and 1,636 RBI. *1979 - San Diego Padres outfielder Dave Winfield and Texas Rangers third baseman Buddy Bell are first-time honorees as The Sporting News announces the 1979 Gold Glove teams. 1980s *1980 - Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Steve Howe wins the National League Rookie of the Year Award, edging Montreal Expos starter Bill Gullickson and outfielder Lonnie Smith the Philadelphia Phillies. Howe posted a 7-9 record with a 2.65 ERA and 17 saves. *1982 - The New York Yankees sign onetime American League MVP Don Baylor to a free agent contract. Baylor, who won the Award in 1979, hit 24 home runs and 93 RBI for the California Angels in 1982. He signs a reported 5-year, $5 million contract. *1987 - Free agent outfielder Brett Butler is signed by the Giants. Butler hit .295 with nine home runs, 41 RBI, and 33 stolen bases for Cleveland last season. *1989 - Free agent pitcher Mark Langston signs a five-year contract with the Angels. 1990s *1992: **The Houston Astros sign free agent pitcher Doug Drabek to a four-year contract worth $19.5 million. **The Chicago Cubs sign free agent pitcher Juan Guzmán to a four-year contract. Guzmán is coming off his best ML season, winning 16 games for the Texas Rangers. *1997 - The Arizona Diamondbacks obtain 3B Matt Williams from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for 3B Travis Fryman, P Tom Martin, and $3 million. *1998: **Due the acquisition of All-Star catcher Mike Piazza, the Mets deal fan favorite Todd Hundley along with minor league pitcher Arnold Gooch to the Dodgers for outfielder Roger Cedeño and catcher Charles Johnson. The Mets then sends Johnson to Baltimore to obtain closer Armando Benítez. **Bypassing his agent and making the deal himself, Rafael Palmeiro turns down a bigger offer from Baltimore and signs a five-year $45 million contract to stay with the Rangers. **Free agent outfielder Otis Nixon is signed by the Atlanta Braves. The speedster Nixon was a starter for Atlanta from 1991-93. **The Baltimore Orioles sign slugger Albert Belle to a five–year contract. *1999 - The Philadelphia Phillies sign free agent relief pitcher Mike Jackson to a contract. 2000s *2000 - Reliever Turk Wendell, who wears uniform number 99, agrees to a three-year deal worth $9,999,999.99 with the New York Mets. Wendell had asked that his pact include an option year in which he would play for free, but that plan was unworkable because baseball's collective bargaining agreement sets a $200,000 minimum salary. *2001 - The Mets sign star Japanese pitcher Satoru Komiyama to a one-year contract. Komiyama was a seven-time All-Star in Japan. *2002 - Former major league starting pitcher Dave McNally dies from lung cancer at the age of 60. A four-time 20-game winner over the span of four consecutive seasons, McNally helped anchor a Baltimore Orioles pitching staff that featured Hall of Famer Jim Palmer and standout left-hander Mike Cuellar. McNally won Game Four of the 1966 World Series, cementing Baltimore’s sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also won Game Three of the 1970 World Series, as the Orioles defeated the Cincinnati Reds in five games. At the end of his career, McNally helped change baseball’s basic financial structure. After playing the 1975 season without a signed contract, McNally was declared a free agent by arbitrator Peter Seitz. The decision paved the way for the advent of the free agent system. *2005: **The Boston Red Sox acquired pitcher Jermaine Van Buren from the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named or cash. **The Philadelphia Phillies agreed to terms with catcher Sal Fasano on a one-year contract. **The San Diego Padres agreed to terms with outfielder Brian Giles on a three-year contract. **The San Francisco Giants agreed to terms with reliever Tim Worrell on a two-year contract. Births *1882 - Ed Reulbach, pitcher (d. 1961) *1889 - Willie Mitchell, pitcher (d. 1973) *1911 - Walter Alston, Hall of Fame manager (d. 1984) *1912 - Cookie Lavagetto, All-Star player and manager (d. 1990) *1917 - Marty Marion, All-Star player and manager *1925 - Cal McLish, All-Star pitcher *1944 - Jim Ray, pitcher *1948 - George Foster, All-Star outfielder *1954 - Dan Schatzeder, pitcher *1961 - Herm Winningham, outfielder *1963 - Greg W. Harris, pitcher *1965 - Julio Machado, pitcher *1966 - Greg McMichael, pitcher *1966 - Larry Walker, All-Star outfielder *1967 - Reggie Sanders, All-Star outfielder *1970 - Kirk Rueter, pitcher *1992 - Javier Baez. infielder Deaths *1902 - Fred Dunlap, infielder (b. 1859) *1927 - Germany Smith, infielder (b. 1863) *1975 - Nellie Fox, Hall of Fame infielder (b. 1927) *1975 - Dave Koslo, pitcher (b. 1920) *1976 - George Earnshaw, pitcher (b. 1900) *1991 - Buster Mills, player and manager (b. 1908) *1999 - Gene Baker, All-Star infielder (b. 1925) *2002 - Dave McNally, All-Star pitcher (b. 1942)